8 Month Old Falls Sleep Independantly for Naps, Screams at Bedtime

Maybe its as simple as not liking the dark, try a night light. Its really good that you have a schedule. That definately helps.

I would just try a night light and try to get her in bed before she is over tired. Good luck!

maybe try a night light?

She is screaming because she is not tired. 3 naps a day is too many for an 8-mo-old. Take away one of those naps and she'll sleep better at night. You may have to adjust her "schedule" to accommodate this change.

Why are you letting her scream for 2+ hours? It isn't good for her and must be driving you crazy.

I also recommend you cut her naps from 3 to 2 or maybe even 1.

I am a complete loss at how you can let your baby cry for 2+hours... 2+minutes is too long for me. Your baby is just that... a BABY. And she NEEDS you, her mommy! Right now you are basically teaching her that you will NOT be there for her and she has to rely solely on herself to be comforted. Do you really want that to be your lesson at such a young age? I strongly recommend you toss out the idea of "sleep training" and comfort your baby as often and whenever she needs it!!! Reassure her that you will always be here for her. She shouldn't be expected to "self-soothe".

Babies are not robots. They should not be put on schedules. You should be following her leads and by offering a consistent routine, like you do, she will begin to set her own healthy schedule. And she will sleep better. And she will be comforted by the person she's supposed to be comforted by.. YOU.

I am sorry you are experiencing this! As a parent it is many times so overwhelming and confusing with all the changes babies go through. I appreciate everyone's answers and suggestions but I can tell you that there is most likely a very simple answer for why your baby is doing this at night. Babies sleep needs change as they develop and understanding how sleep connects with her specific age & development will get you on the right track.

I am happy to help you. Please email me directly at ____@____.com. I am an infant consultant and pediatric sleep coach and help parents on a daily basis with their children's sleep issues. I am happy to shed some light on your situation and guide you in the right direction - which will curb your daughter's crying and get her sleeping through the night w/out the tears.

Babies can and will sleep consistently (day & night) and are able to at a young age. All you need is the right information and guidance. Once you understand - you can handle any normal disruptions that commonly take place as they grow (teething, illnesses, travel, etc.) and continue to have them sleep through the night. :)

I am happy to help! :)

I think she is having too many naps so she is not tired at bedtime. Try to cut the naps down to 2 and see how she does. You might even have to cut down to 1 nap. My son had to stop naps all together at 18 months because he wouldn't go to sleep at night. You also might want to try to change bed time to see if that helps. If it's not the naps, she may be hungry. Is she eating solid foods? You may want to increase how much she eats at dinner and increase how much she drinks before bedtime. It takes a lot of experimentation to figure things out with babies and just when you do, they change again!

Good luck!

It is the 'witching hour.'
Which about dusk or night time, babies have a hard time adjusting to the change from day to night.
Both my kids did that to to a certain degree.

She is still real young... and 9 months old will be a 'growth-spurt' time.. in which a baby will get hungrier and need more intake, naturally, because they are growing. Thus intake has to keep pace with them.

If teething, then it is hard for them to sleep. And at night, is when it seems to be more prominent.

ALSO from about 6 months old.. they get 'separation anxiety.'

Also yes, babies this age still wake at night. Normal.

Do you nurse/feed her before bed?

Night time, is just harder for some babies. Most babies.
One phase of many. Still to come.

All the best,
Susan

Naps are shorted. She may know when it's bedtime and she's by herself in the dark for a long time. Do you have a nightlight? That helped mine a lot!
The other thing I did was try different things to find what one thing worked.
You won't like hearing this but for a few months I would stay in there for about 20 min reading a magazine then sneak out (nightlight on).
Then I didn't have to do that anymore until he turned a year then it was something else and I would not stay in there but would make the transition easy by leaving on a flashlight in addition to the nightight so it wasn't so dark (then I'd take the flashlight out once he fell asleep). I would also put a stuffed animal in with him but take it out once he fell asleep.
So basically I'm saying I tried a million different things until I found the right thing that worked for us.
It changed every few months but we're now at a pretty good place and he's 19 mos old.
I say keep changing to adjust to her constant changing, make sure she's not hungry or hurting (teething), has a comforting blanket to fall asleep with, there's ample nightlight but not too bright etc.
This stage will change and then change again! So try to be adaptable.
Oh also I would get up and feed him when he woke up in the middle of the night so I knew he wasn't hungry. At 8 mos, he did not wake up every night but when he did I got up. I, also, changed his diaper so he wouldn't wake up due to a wet diaper. This all changed at 1 yr old and he slept through the night except for the occasional sickness. So hang in there and it will soon get better.

Our seven month old is dealing with some of the same issues. We discovered that he was napping too much during the day. So we cut his nap times down by a 1/2 hour and also work really hard to tire him out before bed. One of his favorite activities that seems to burn off energy is to sit in his jumper. We put him in it 30 minutes before bedtime and then he's pretty tuckered out.
We have black-out curtains in his room which makes the room dark regardless of whether it's day or night, so we bought him the Baby Einstein aquarium which lights up and plays music for about 30 minutes until he falls asleep.
Another trick is to give her something soft to play with in her crib for those moments she's awake and just bored. This will help to keep her occupied until she is sufficiently tired enough to go to sleep as well as to entertain her until you are ready to get her.

How long are her three naps during the day? Maybe she napped too long during the day and is not tired by bedtime?

My son dropped to 2 naps a day when he turned 7 months but each baby is different.

Make sure she is tired but not overtired before bedtime.

My baby is the same way, but I think I've figured it out somewhat. When she's ready for naps, I pay attention to her signals and get her to sleep right away. Bedtime is sometimes at different times though, and when she doesn't get to bed when she starts to show us she's ready, we have a rough time getting her to sleep. If she's in bed before she's really tired, it's an easy night. Try putting her to sleep before she's really tired. It will hopefully help!